speedy pasta – pasta with bacon, spinach & arugula

When I accompanied my friend to her hospital appointment last week, there were some really old and well-read magazines … and in of them, this dish was screaming out to me. And the day after I enjoyed it for dinner on my own.

What I like about this dish … is that there are very few ingredients, very little prep, quick to make and tastes fantastic. In original recipe , there are no bacon … just the healthy stuff. But I need my “meat” of some kind.

And I always have diced bacon in my freezer – I buy it fresh already diced. I use a lot of it.

For this dish, I had everything at home except the lettuce and I bought a mixed bag with baby spinach and Arugula lettuce. 

Pasta with Bacon, Arugula, and Spinach, serves 4
Preparation time; 10 min – cooking time; 12 min.

300 gr (10.1 oz) pasta
360 gr (12.7 oz) bacon, diced
2 red chili, finely chopped (used Findus frozen)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
100 gr (3.5 oz) baby spinach
100 gr  (3.5 oz)arugula
75 ml (2.5 oz) olive oil
100 ml (0.5 cups)  parsley chopped (used Findus frozen)
fine zest of 1/2 lemon
salt and fresh ground coarse black pepper
grated parmesan

1. Cook the past to the instructions on the package.
2. Finely chop onion, chili, and garlic
3. Add a little amount of olive oil to a frying pan and add the bacon, fry until nicely golden – not allowed to be crisp.
4. Turn down the heat to medium – add more olive oil, chili, and onions for a couple of minutes. Soft fry only – NOT ALLOWED TO GET ANY COLOR.
5. Add the lettuce and let it wilt. Mix in the parsley and lemon zest. Seasoning.
6. Then mix in the well-drained pasta and give it a good stir.
7. Serve steam-hot with loads of grated parmesan. 

While my pasta was cooking I made the bacon-lettuce mix … it took about 12 min. And had forgotten to pick the stalks of the lettuce before I added them to the frying pan, so I was doing while they were cooking, especially the spinach stalks. But I didn’t burn myself. “Life happens .. and so does shit too”!!!

Have already made it twice in a week’s time. It’s a “stupid-safe” to make and super easy dish, but it has become one of my favorites. No complicated ingredients and a very cheap dish to make, if you leave the bacon out, even cheaper. 

Me who not really been cooking Italian food … for a very long time, not because I don’t like it … just haven’t happened. Now I seem to live on it, mostly because it’s a quick fix and it VERY tasty.

A great dish to do now in the Christmas rush and stress!!! No stress involved in this dish and no rush neither.

Buon appetito!!!

“In heaven, after antipasti,
the first course will be pasta.”
Steve Albini